Electrotestee foe testing aittomobile-motoes



L. R. WlLLlTS.

ELECTROTESTE R FOR TESTING AUTOMOBILE MOTORS. APPLICATION FILED MAR. I5, 1918- RENEWED MAR. 16.1920.

1 57,604, Patented Nov. 2, 1920.

2 SHEETSSHEET l.

L. R. WILLITS.

ELECTROTESTER FOR TESTING AUTOMOBILE MOTORS.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 15, I918. RENEWED MAR. 16.1920.

1,857,604. Patented Nov. 2,1920.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2- nwucwtom LURIVZ'ZZZ i 5 UNITED STATES LELAND R. WILLITS, OF ATLANTIC CITY, NEW JERSEY.

ELEGTROTESTER FOR TESTING AUTOMOBILE-MOTORS.

Specification of Letters Eatent.

Patented Nov. 2, 1920.

Application filed March 15, 1918, Serial 110. 222,662. Renewed March 16, 1920. Serial No. 366,436.

To all wimm it may concern Be it known that I, LELAND R. WILLrrs, a citizen of the United States, residing at Atlantic City, in the county of Atlantic and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in, Electrotesters for Testing Automobile-Motors; and I do hereby'declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to improvements in electrotesters and more particularly to. devices for testing spark plugs of internal combustion engines and has for one of its objects the provision of a device of this character, whereby any one Ofthespark plugs of an engine can be tested to determine if they are dead or dirty, so that it does not produce the correct spark necessary for the correct running of the engine.

Another object of this invention is the provision of means whereby any one or more than one of the spark plugs can be grounded to prevent them from firing so that a defect in a certain spark plug or cylinder of the engine or loose bearings or connecting rods and defective valves can be located.

A further object of this invention is the provision of an electrotester of the above stated character, which may be readily installed permanently in an automobile or may be used as an accessory and which may be manufactured and sold at a comparatively low cost.

ith these and other objects in view as will become more apparent as the description proceeds, the invention consists in certaln novel features of constructlon, combination and arrangement of parts as will be hereinafter more fully described and claimed.

For a complete understanding of myinvention, reference is to be had to the following description and accompanying drawin s, in which Tigure 1 is a front elevation of an electrotester constructed in accordance with my invention and illustrating the same applied to the spark plugs of-an engine,

Fig.2 is an enlarged vertical sectional view of the same, i

Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view illustrating the various contacts and the electrodes,

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary sectional view of a controlling switch,

F g. 5 is a plan view of a conductor strip,

Ijlg. 6 is a plan view of another conductor strlp carryingone of the electrodes, and Fig. 7 is a detail sectional view illustratmg a portion of a switch in engagement with the contacts.

Referring in detail to the drawings, the numeral 5 indicates an internal combustion engine of the four cylinder type and each cylinder being provided with a spark using the device as an accessory. The block 8-has a metallic face plate 9 secured thereto provided with spaced semi-circularly arranged openings to receive switches 1, 2, 3, and 1, which correspond to the four spark plugsof the engine 5. The face plate 9 is also provided with an opening in which is positioned a frame 10 carrying a lens or glass plate 11 which is disposed over alined openings 12 of the blocks 7 and 8. An insulating plate 13 is secured to the rear face of the block 7 and closes the opening 12 therein. A stationaryelectrode'lt is-located in the opening 12 of the block 7 and is carried by a contact plate 15 embedded within the inner face of the block" 7 and covered by a suitable insulating'material. A contact projection 16 is formed upon the contact plate 15 and projects into a recess 17 in the inner face of the block 8. The recess 17 communicates with a recess 18 in the block 8 and also with the opening 12 thereof,'and the recess 18 has the switches 1, 2, 3, and A located therein as clearly illustrated in Fig. 3. A movable electrode 19 is threaded in the'block 7 and has its inner "end spaced from the electrode 14 for the purpose of forming a spark gap.- A suitable handle 20 is secured to the movable electrode 19 for the purpose of adjusting the same toward and from the electrode 14. A contact strip 21 is embedded in the inner face of the block 7 and is connected with the movable electrode 19 and to a terminal 22 to which a ground conductor 23 is connected. The ground conductor 23 is connected to a ground 24 which may be the frame or chassis of the auto mobile. The contact strip 21. is covered by an insulating material and has formed thereon a contact member 25 arranged in spaced relation to the contact member 16.

A rod 26 is journaled in the block 7 and extends through the recess 18 and the block 8 and through a central opening in the face plate carrying upon its outer end an insulated operating handle 27. A knife switch 28 is secured to the rod 26 and is adapted to be manually moved into engagement with the contact members and 16 during the operation of the device. An arcuate shaped contact plate 29 is carried by the inner face of the block 7 adjacent the 25 rod 26 and is connected'to the rod 26 by means of a conductor or contact plate 30. The arcuate shaped contact plate 29 is adapted to be connected to the terminals 31 by means of the switches 1, 2, 3, and 4,

each of which consists of a supporting rod 32 carried by the block 7 having slidably mounted thereon an actuating or operating handle 33 that projects through the face plate 9. A contact late 34 is carried by 35 the inner end of the iiandle 33 and slidably mounted upon the rod 32 for bridging the terminal 31 with the arcuate shaped contact strip 29. Expansion springs 35 are mounted upon the rod 32 for normally holding the contact plate 34 from engagement with the terminal 31 and the arcuate shaped contact strip 29. A pin 36 is carried by the block 7 adjacent the pin 32 and is slid ably received within an opening in the contact 34 for the purpose of holding said contact plate in its proper position during all of its movement. The terminals 31 have connected thereto conductors 37 which extend out-- wardly through openings in the periphery of the block 7 and are connected to their respective spark plugs of the engine 5 as "illustrated in Fig. 1. A suitable clamp 38 surrounds the conductors 37 for holding them together.

In operation, when it is desired to test the spark plugs of the engine 5, the movable electrode 19 is adjusted in relation to the stationary electrode 14 to a distance less than that between the electrodes of the spark plugs. The knife switch 28 is then swung by the handle 27 into engagement with the contact member 16, and upon pushing inwardly upon the switch 1 the electrical cur rent will be taken from the first spark plug to the stationary electrode 14 from which it will jump to the electrode 19 and thence to the ground 24 by the ground conductor 23. If the spark plug is correctly operated, a brilliant or bright spark will be produced between the electrodes 14 and 19. Owing to the fact that the electrodes 14 and 19 are closer together than the electrodes upon the spark plugs, the electrical current will travel through the electrodes 14 and 19 as there is a less resistance. If the spark plug is dirty from carbon or other foreign matter accumulating thereon,,only a small portion of the electricity will pass or jump from the electrode 14 to 19 as the carbon of the spark plug will offer a less resistance to the electrical current, thereby a much weaker spark will be produced between the electrodes 14 and 19 indicating that the spark plug is foul and needs cleaning. If the spark plug is dead or not firing, there will be no spark between the electrodes 14 and 19 as the carbon creating the ground in the spark plugs will be of a less resistance permitting the electrical current to pass directly through the spark plugs instead of going through the electrodes 14 and 19, thereby indicating that it is necessary that the spark plug be removed and cleaned or replaced by another. If, for instance, the new spark plug does not fire, it indicates that some connection in the electric circuit to the particular spark plug is out of order. hen it is desired to ground one or more of the spark plugs of the engine 5, the knife switch 28 is moved into engagement with the contact member 25 cutting out the electrodes 14 and 19 from the circuit. By closing one or more of the switches 1, 2, 3, and 4, the respective spark plugs will be grounded providing means wherein one spark plug may be permitted to fire in a certain cylinder for the purpose of detecting leaking valves, pistons and loose connecting rods and bearings.

While I have shown and described the preferred embodiment of my invention, it will be understood that minor changes in construction, combination and arrangement of parts may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

What I claim as new is 1. A device of the character set forth comprising a support having a sight opening, electrodes carried by said support and arranged within said sight opening, spaced contaots carried by said support, means connecting said contacts with the electrodes, a switch for alternatingly engaging the contact members to ground and test the spark plugs of an engine, and means by which electrical current can be taken from any one of the spark plugs of an engine to the switch.

2. A device of the character set forth comprising a support having a sight opening, adjustable electrodes carried by said support and arranged within the sight opening, contact members carried by said support, means connecting the contact members with the electrodes, a knife switch carried by the support and adapted to be manually manipulated to alternately engage the contact members to test and to ground the spark plugs of an engine, a series of switches carried by said support and adapted to make contact with the terminal of the first named switch, and means connecting the series of switches with the spark plugs of the engine.

3. A device of the character set forth comprising a support, electrodes carried by said support, spaced contact members carried by said support, means connecting one of the contact members with one of the electrodes,

means connecting the other contact member with the other electrode and to a ground, a knife switch carried by said support and adapted to be manually manipulated to alternately engage the contact members to test and ground the spark plugs of an engine, a series of switches carried by said support and adapted to contact with the terminal of the first named switch, and electrical conductors connected to the series of switches and to the spark plugs of an engine. In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

LELAND R. WILLITS. Witnesses:

FLORENCE A. POWERS, PAUL J. ONEILL. 

